MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson Paperback – June 28, 2016

This was very disappointing overall. The description makes the book sound as though it provide insight into the recording and writing process of his albums, which is very much what i was looking for. Instead, it's primarily concerned with hitting the major biographical notes, the scandals (substantiated or not), and a ton of information that you could gather from the internet. The actual portions of the book that ARE focused on the music are pretty scant in terms of detail when detail would be welcome (for instance--what were song inspirations? What songs were recorded and are sitting in the vaults? How were the songs written?) and heavy on details that aren't really necessary (three pages describing all the dance moves in the "Billie Jean" number at the Motown celebration, as though anyone interested couldn't just pull it up on YouTube).It's not a bad read, but it's not enlightening, and it's not what it markets itself as.

I have read EVERY book ever written about Michael Jackson. Ninety-nine percent are worthless. Several have been written since he died and are very good. This book is NOT.The title is very misleading and really the only reason I bought it. It implies that Knopper will focus on Michael Jackson's GENIUS. He doesn't. Instead he fills the books with "anecdotes" about Michael's "weirdness" as if we haven't gotten enough of that from the tabloid (and mainstream) media for years now. Almost everything in the book was taken straight from other books written about MJ. I felt that the author does not like Michael Jackson. And that he took every opportunity to diminish his talents and again, just focus on stupid, irrelevant and mostly NOT ACCURATE so-called "incidents" involving Michael being strange.Mr. Knopper we all know that MJ was a genius. There is so much to say about that. Why didn't you focus on that and why did you mislead us with that title? I found that very offensive and if there was a way to contact you and give you a piece of my mind trust me I would. Please don't do this again. Fans and even non-fans deserve the TRUTH about Michael Jackson. There was very little of that in your book. Nice try.

This book was informative and showed the genius had strength in the musical arena but weaknesses in the emotional areas as we all do, I would have like to have read him reconciling with his Dad for it seemed like he carried a lot of unforgiveness toward the one who was responsible for his amazing talent. I don't condone child abuse but also don't condone not letting go of the past and appreciating the good that a parent has done. This man was blessed beyond measure with God giving gifts and extraordinary musical abilities that many admired and loved him for, but unfortunately it seemed as if he never really seemed to learn to love himself. I am and will always be a fan of MJ, just hope he as finally found peace.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS BOOK! This is a mean-spirited book by someone who obviously doesn't like MJ. The title is very misleading. There is little to nothing about MJ's genius. I read the entire book and the more I read the more disappointed I was. This is definitely nor worth the paper it is printed on.

It could be worse, but don't waste your money. Nothing new here, and it's not very reliable. No better than Sullivan and Taraborrelli, hard to know why this book exists.

This biography is riddled with flaws. The author conveys almost no sense of the genius of Michael Jackson, despite the book's subtitle, and virtually nothing of his personality. The author interviewed over 400 minor players in Jackson's life and none of the major players. The result is accounts of petty rivalries between studio technicians, gripes from record company executives about cost over-runs in the making of albums and short films, and other stories that say little about Jackson. The author also consistently views Jackson's actions in a negative light, where there is easily another interpretation to be made. For example, the high cost of some of the short films he portrays as the indulgence of a spoiled rock star, rather than the perfectionism of an artist whose results, in the end, justified the cost. The author fails to take a fresh look at Jackson, falling back instead upon the by now tired view of Jackson as a weirdo who is beyond understanding.The writing has a hurried feel, as if the author didn't fully consider what he was writing. Some of the sentences were puzzling, needing further explanation, and some of the facts were wrong.One day a good, or even great, biography of Michael Jackson will be written, but this ain't it.

If you are looking for an in depth study of the genius of Michael Jackson and his body of work, you won't find it here. This book simply seemed to offer nothing new and very little about the genius of Michael Jackson. Most of what the book offered had already been in print in various magazine and internet articles. It felt as if this was as much as an apology that anyone from Rolling Stone was going to give to a black artist no matter how famous or how much influence he had on other artists, MTV, or music that spanned thirty years.You would be better off reading Joseph Vogel. His book, Man in the Music The creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson, offers wonderful insights into the music of Michael Jackson and his creative process. .

I listened to the audiobook 3 times and finally broke down and bought the hard copy

Factual errors from top to bottom. Some good interviews

Evidently the best book on Michael Jackson ever. Buy this book! Thankx jwj :)

this is a good book with lots of insights to Michael Jackson's artistic side, the process of creativity but it is in equal parts the story of his whole life. A very dispassionate look at the artist and his work. Being a MJ fan for life I wish there was more weightage given to discussing his craft, his dancing, his groundbreaking short films, how good he danced and sang even at 50 for O2 rehearsals. It misses out on the reverence and respect that only comes when you truly love MJ and his music. Still a decent read though it doesn't deconstruct the genius behind his magic.

Steve Knopper obviously got to know his subject very well before putting pen to paper. Despite my fondness for MJ, I am prepared to accept the entire truth; "good, bad or ugly". Fortunately, I am enjoying mostly the "good" as the author is giving us, the fans, a fair, truthful and biography I can't put down. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MICHAEL JACKSON.

The single best book about MJ.Well-researched and fair-minded, Steve Knopper has written the most ojective portrait of Jackson I've read. Among all the money-making crap out there, this is the one real thing.If you want to read about Michael Jackson, chose this book.